From Dorset to Cornwall

Our roadtrip through the Southwest of England continued today. From our readings, we concluded that the things to see at Dartmoor National Park were ponies and tors (essentially granite outcrops). One could easily spend a whole day or more exploring but we did not have the luxury of time. The visitor centre didn't open until 10am and so it was that we choose a singular spot that captured the essence of the moor but that was also enroute to our final destination. That lucky place was Buckland Beacon. Navigating the narrow English lanes to ge there when it was busy would have been a nightmare....

As cold as it was, our walk across the open moor to Buckland Beacon was enjoyable. The air was invigorating and the panoramic views atop the Beacon of the surround area spectacular. If you do plan to visit, a little bit of reading beforehand would be handy as there is a lot of history behind the rocks. Otherwise it would seem like a random walk across fields to see random rocks!

The narrow lanes opening up

Ancient dry stone walls in the moor

It was cold in the morning!

Looking down onto the farmlands

Buckland Beacon...apparently a good setting to make action movies

Help me!!!

Wait...let me pose first

The views seem to go on forever

The commandment rocks. W.A."Moses"Clement carved them in 1928. He was commissioned by William Whitley of Wellstor to commemorate the parliamentary rejection of a new version of the bible that was considered too "papist".

We thought we captured a shot of a wild moor pony but it was not to be. This one was tamed according to Grandpa

This one, however, is definitely not tamed.

Dartmouth Castle made it onto our list as it was one not related to royalty or noble families but for defence. The drive to get there in a 7 seater van though, was stressful! Entry was covered with the English Heritage Overseas Visitor Pass. We enjoyed the history behind the castle and the gorgeous views both out to sea as well as back towards Dartmouth. If we had more time, it would have been great to do some of the coastal walks or even a boat trip to get a photo of the spectacularly situated castle.

The surrounding coast

The "new" gun tower now the entrance

Protecting the harbour

Lower level where the harbour chain was located

Dartmouth

Polperro was next on the list and we were expecting a quaint fishing village. It was actually a little underwhelming and run down. Other seaside towns such as Fowey and Dartmouth were much prettier. One tip of note: Malcolm discovered that the local public toilets will accept Malaysian coins. At the time of writing the 20p entry price would equate to 1.05MYR. He only had one 20 sens coin and no pence so he gave it a go. The machines recognised a 20sens coin... but as 10p! That's 5 toilet trips for the price of one! Unfortunately he was still 10p short which meant no p. Some lucky punter will get a cheap toilet entry in the near future...

A walk through the narrow streets of the village. The three pilchards was the oldest pub

Finally the water

The family still in practice for "selfie with 7"

From Polperro, we drove to Bodinnick where there was a ferry to Fowey. This saved us having to traverse tricky narrow lanes back to the main road and saved some time. The ferry ride was short and before long, we were driving round and round Fowey with road diversions and restricted area making it difficult to find parking that was a reasonable walk to the actual town centre. By this point, we were all tired and decided that the dinner of the famous mussels would have to wait for another day. Fortunately the drive to Par where the Britannia Inn was only took 10 minutes. We watched the rest of the cricket and enjoyed dinner at the restaurant attached to the hotel to end another long day!

The ferry for cars, bikes and passengers. It took cash or card

Looking back to Polruan from Fowey

Pub downstairs? Grandpa is happy!